Progress on the Path: Initial Baseline Findings of Certificate Completers

Guiding Vision In service of meeting Oregon’s goal for the “middle 40” Certificate completion & continued education Address the changing needs of employers, job seekers, workers, and students Focus on Career & Technical Education (CTE) short-term certificates tied to occupations

Goals To increase the number of Oregonians with certificates, credentials, and degrees To ease transitions across the education continuum—high school to community college; pre-college (ABE/GED/ESL) to postsecondary credit ; community college to university; and to employment

Leadership Oregon Presidents’ Council Career Pathways Resolutions 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 State Board of Education Oregon Workforce Investment Board Oregon Pathways Alliance: collaboration of leaders from 17 colleges meeting quarterly since 2004 CCWD statewide coordination role

Policy Direction Drives Increased Completions State Board of Education approved Career Pathway Certificate (CPCC) effective July 1, Certificates tied to competencies for jobs in local labor market & approved by employers More than 240 Career Pathway Certificates offered statewide (12-44 credits) More than 100 Less Than One Year (LTOY) Certificates offered already offered statewide (12-44 credits) Average number of credits for certificates: 22 More than 5,000 certificates have been awarded since 2008

Certificates Awarded Statewide Source: Oregon Community College Program Submission System

Initial Study of Completers: Baseline Data Foundation: Pathways Accountability Framework developed by the Pathways Alliance and Davis Jenkins, Community College Research Center Initial cohort: 2008/09 and 2009/10 completers: 1461 completers 96 percent of completers had SSNs that allowed for employment impact analysis; 92 percent of cohort had Oregon wage data Scope: Includes both Career Pathways Certificates (CPCC) and Less Than One Year Certificates (LTOY); both are credits Data sources: OCCURS, CCWD Program Submission, OED wage data Limitations: no “universe” or comparison group possible; wage data limited to Oregon; continued education data limited to Oregon community colleges; no data available on employment in same career focus area as certificate

Descriptive Completer Findings Short-term certificate completions nearly evenly divided between men and women Most certificate completers were over 25 years and many older than 45 years (28% were yrs. of age) Less than 5 percent of completers took an ABS course one or two years prior to completion (ABE/GED/ESL) Approximately one-third of completers took a Developmental Education course one year prior to completion Two career areas with highest number of certificate awards: – Industrial & Engineering Systems – Business & Management

Employment Findings Despite high unemployment from , 44.5 percent of completers entered employment at 30+/hrs. a week at $12/hour more within four quarters of completion – Many completers earning $15+/hour – 50% of completers entered employment at 30+/hrs. a week at minimum wage or above four quarters post completion Of those who entered employment: – 48.1 percent were continuously employed for four quarters at $12/hour or more – Average wage was $17.68/hour

Regional Findings Metro Region: Of the 640 completers who were not employed prior to completion – 50.3% entered employment within four quarters with an average wage of $19.40 Regional average entry-level wage was $11.43 Median wage of the region of $18.77

Regional Findings Southern Region: Certificate completers earned an average of $17.08/hour – an increase of $6.87/hour above the regional entry-level wage – Above the regional median wage of $15.09/hour

Continued Education Findings 14 percent of completers who were $12+/hr. also completed a course in the same program of study four quarter post completion 18 percent of completers who entered $12+/hr. and were un- or underemployed prior to completion, took at least one credit at an Oregon community college four quarters post completion 21 percent of completers took a course in the same program of study at an Oregon community college four quarters post completion (regardless of employment) 47 percent cohort completed at least one credit at an Oregon community college within four quarters post completion (regardless of employment)

Future Direction Conduct annual studies Continue to track initial cohort over time building on baseline data Participate in Center for Law & Social Policy (CLASP) Alliance for Quality Career Pathways Initiative with nine other states Include WIA comparison Assess Return on Investment (ROI) Use for continuous improvement